One thing the Bush presidency has done is turn many Americans into hypocrites.
Partisans claiming admiration for civil liberties support illegal wiretaps. Conservatives claiming to be "pro-life" oppose life-improving or -saving measures like medicinal marijuana and stem-cell research. Republicans supposedly strong on national security endorse an administration willing to out a vital CIA operative simply to intimidate whistle-blowers and settle a score.
But the most hypocritical, to me, are the "good Christians" uttering hate speech they would spend a lifetime decrying if it came from those we consider "terrorists."
On a national level, it's rather easy to find examples of so-called Christians making statements that would cause Al Qaeda to blush. In fact, I could devote this entire entry to
Pat Robertson if I wanted to. Over the last year, this radical American cleric has called for a
political assassination and threatened an
entire town - something he's
done before. Elsewhere, Fox's
John Gibson wished the London terror attacks on France, while
Bill O'Reilly suggested executing Guantanamo detainees. Tom DeLay
threatened those fighting to let Terri Schiavo die in peace. DeLay's congressional colleague,
Rick Santorum, blamed liberals for church sex abuse.
While these household names make waves, taking a closer look at hatred masking itself as Christianity - giving decent, positive Christians a bad name - reveals a stunning picture. Remember the North Carolina church that excommunicated Democrats? Or the Texas school that, thanks to parental pressure, replaced cross-dressing day with Camo Day? Or the Kansas professor severely beaten for his views critical of Christian fundamentalism. Across America, there's a Christian Taliban rivaling that of the original Taliban.
I'm no stranger to these crazies myself. Take the patriot who suggested - in a response to a story I wrote about America's nationalistic move - keeping Muslims in a makeshift zoo, under armed guard. Or the Brad Stine fan threatening to "bible thump" me for criticizing the hateful "comic." Those of you who regularly read liberal blogs know that insane comments like these coming from "good folks" are the rule, not the exception.
My point is this: A nut is a nut is a nut. Why do we treat these terrible statements any differently than we do those coming from those "evil-doers" overseas? Why do the Robertsons of the world get a free pass when they take a page right out of the Taliban playbook? Why do we allow divisive comments simply because they're wrapped in an American flag and hiding behind the Bible? Extremism is extremism, whether we're talking about the Middle East - or the Middle West. Fundamentalism - Christian or Muslim - is the problem, and we should stop excusing those sharing our nationality from doing outrageous things in our name.
Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I consider Americans willing to infringe the rights of other Americans just as bad as those "freedom haters" we so love to stereotype. Terrorists, Bush says, want to tear America apart, dividing us however possible. Well, it's working - thanks in no small part to the hateful rhetoric coming from within America. So isn't it time, after all, that we recognize that we're not dealing with apples and oranges here, but apples and apples?
A nut is a nut is a nut.
